After sweeping the Bay Area schools over the weekend, the University of Utah men’s basketball team picked up a Pac-12 weekly award Monday.
For the first time this season, 7-foot center Branden Carlson was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week by the league office.
In Thursday night’s overtime win over Stanford, Carlson, a 2017 Bingham High School graduate, was a revelation. His 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight blocks — all career highs — marked his best game as a collegian. The eight blocks are tied for third-most in a single game in Utah history.
Utah (14-9, 5-6 Pac-12) can creep its way back into the postseason picture with a good showing on one of the Pac-12’s toughest road trips this weekend, at Oregon State on Thursday and at Oregon on Sunday.
The Utes, who are 0-5 on the road vs. the Pac-12 this season, split against the Oregon schools at home last month. A decisive 81-69 win over the Beavers was followed by a hard-fought 69-64 loss to then-No. 4 Ducks. The Oregon loss is Utah’s only defeat at the Huntsman Center, where it is 10-1 after the Stanford-Cal sweep.